


The Little Deaths

by Sugar1Sugar0



Category: Banana Bus Squad, Real Person Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-21 09:34:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar1Sugar0/pseuds/Sugar1Sugar0
Summary: After a harsh ordeal back in his hometown, Ryan finds the motivation to finally move away. Into a small and quaint mountain rage is not what his friends are expecting, but they fully support him. There, he meets the charmingly unique Officer Dennis and the interestingly mysterious Officer Patterson. Not even three days in and he already doesn’t want to leave.That is, until he meets the telltale paranoid mountain man: “They want you to become one of them, to be locked in this place forever just like they are. If you don’t start now, you’ll never make it out. Run.”Initially, Ryan takes the words with a grain of salt, but when the broken logic of a madman begins to apply itself, the paranoia spreads like wildfire. However, it seems Ryan has missed his chance as he is forced to do the only thing he can: run.





	1. Chapter 1

Ryan sat squished in the back seat of the taxi, watching in awe as the cars and buildings speed by in a blur of different colors. Though they did slow as the bright yellow car approached the bottom of the mountain. The cab smelled of cigarette smoke and what could only be some bodily fluid, but Ryan was in no place to complain as all of his luggage need a good washing, including the bags. He wouldn’t be surprised if the smell followed him up to the cabin.

“Alright, I don’t have all day pal,” the driver suddenly snapped, bringing him from his reverie, “You getting out or what?”

Ryan scrambled to gather his things from the seat next to him and slid out of the car, biting back a remark in his defense. He was nothing but polite the entire ride, what warranted such a snappy attitude? Despite the rudeness, however, he still leaned in and gave the man a substantial tip and cracked a little joke about his Irish accent before the driver was gone in a mass of carbon dioxide and squealing tires.

Good thing he didn’t leave anything in the trunk-- wait, did he? Well, either way it didn’t matter now; he had everything he needed right with him, wasn’t that the point of starting over?

As he traced the trail up the the waiting woodwork cabin door, Ryan’s mind turned back to the moments before he began his trip, back to when his best friends were basically shoving him into the airport’s doors and shipping him off like a package. Things had been difficult at home, or rather, the place he used to call home, and he knew Ava and Michael meant well but…

In his hand, Ryan turned over the keys and bit his lip, hesitating slightly.

“Look,” Mike had told him when they in the parking lot ten minutes before his flight, “Just take some time some off and focus on you, Ryan. This isn’t about you running away from your problems, you’re just taking a break from the stress and that’s a good thing.”

“I told you guys I’m fine.” he’d argued back in a huff. “Work is the only thing I have going for me right now, alright? It-It keeps my mind busy.”

Ava sent him a knowing look.

“All we’re saying is that you don’t need to completely lose your mind trying to force yourself to ‘get over this’ the way you always do. We’re letting you have the space to take this at your own pace. Everyone knows things have been hard since the stuff with Bryce--”

“-Ava,” Ryan warned.

“Okay, Okay, just… Let us worry about the details right now. We just want you to be happy again. Like you used to be.”

Happy. He had almost forgotten how that felt. Ryan thought back on the conversation, then felt his chest puff out in a deep breath. Happy.

Shifting the satchel slung over his shoulder, he tightened his grip on the handle of his larger bag and stepped inside.

There was electricity and running water, and above all else Ryan could be grateful for those.

He tried not to count the cobwebs strung between old fashioned rafters, or think too hard about the layer of dust over everything in the cabin (from the shelves to the insides of the cabinets), but it was a challenge. If anything, the place looked like how Ryan felt: empty, dormant, waiting for the day that someone would wander in and accidentally restore its former glory. With the dismal thought, Ryan sat down on the couch that was nearly as dirty as the sheet covering it.

The place was rustic and quaint and very different from the urbanized houses he had gotten used to back in Chicago. It made him feel a world away, and his chest tightens in anxiety.

His friends told him they would visit in a week. There was a cab service and a town near the base of the mountain that he could wander around and get groceries from. Besides, he saw quite a few neighboring wooden houses, so there had to be at least some nice people around, right? Maybe he could meet someone new, even make new friends. God knows he needs the company.

In a curious meander, Ryan makes his way through the entirety of the house. There were two bedrooms, but one was dedicated to storage of whatever the previous owners didn’t want to take with them, and the other was completely empty. There were two fully functional bathrooms. Nix a dishwasher or microwave, but Ryan had always been a fan of the older, classic way of doing things. He was ecstatic to get such a good deal on the cabin, though now he assumes it may be because of the age in combination with its location. He was also puzzled as to why the previous owner left so much behind. Were they in a rush to leave?

It was still bright out, and he had all week to get comfortable here. Ryan could either spend the rest of his evening cleaning the interior of his new cabin, of he could go out and explore. Honestly the choice was simple, partly because he was happy to get out and have a taste of that nice, mountain air he’d heard so much about. Once more, Ryan swiped up his satchel and keys and made for the door, opting to take an afternoon to familiarize himself with the area.

The dirt roads sounded in all directions down the mountain range, creating forked pathways and decorative patches of woodland bed. Shy, golden glimpses of sunlight peeked through the canopy, casting down in scattered curtains. The thin rays illuminated the translucent skin of brittle and falling leaves. Tree limbs stretched out in all directions and crunched beneath the soles of Ryan shoes, quietly as they were now dampened by the evening dew. He still felt like he was in another universe, but it was a peaceful difference from the busy, industrial life of the big city. For a time, Ryan stopped and admired the rocky rubble of a cliff’s edge, simply taking in the landscape in all of it’s roaring beauty. 

Ryan couldn’t understand how everyone didn’t love nature the way he did, but he would always advise someone to go camping to take a break. If you were going to avoid your problems, you had better do it in style.

On an alcove of somewhat mossy rock, he sat down and pulled one of his current reads out of his bag. It was actually the fourth in a series that was quickly becoming his favorite, called "The Wraith of the Autohaven Wreckers". Ryan was never much of heavy reader, but the mystery thriller stories were real page turners.

Anyway, what he needed now was to clear his head and have a moment of escape. Ryan briefly wondered if reading such a scary book while in an unfamiliar forest clearing was really a good idea, only to dismiss the thought. He hadn’t walked too far from his place; he would be fine out here.

And after that, he was lost in the story, only stopping once he noticed his eyes straining to decipher the words out of a lacking natural light. The sun had just begun it’s descent, bringing an array of colors to parade the late autumn sky. As he looked, his thoughts simplified and quieted, reducing him to enjoy the raw, non-metaphorical or existentially concerning thoughts of the Earth. It was so nice to just feel the goodness and luck of being here and happy in this moment. There was only silence and serenity.

Ryan sighed breathlessly and studied the sky, now stained by clouds of magenta-puce, until a bird song distracted him. It occurred then to him that it may be a good idea to get home before it got too dark and he got lost.

With his things and thoughts collected, Ryan started off, retracing his steps back down the trail he’d come. He took close care to maneuver carefully over fallen limbs and logs. As he crossed a bridge over a slow moving river, Ryan couldn’t help but notice the cool breeze shifting through trees to prickle against his skin. He should’ve grabbed a jacket on his way out. With the winter season approaching faster and faster, he should have predicted the change in rainfall or wind. There was nothing he could do about that now now though, and honestly he didn’t want to let that ruin his beautiful night so far. However, the sooner he got home, the better. But… 

Ryan stopped and peered down the four pronged fork in the road, assessing the paths. Which one had he taken to get here?

He swallowed down the lump forming in his throat as he eyed the trails branching out before him. All of them looked familiar, the trees, the fauna, the footprints, but he had only come down one of them. ‘How typical,’ he thought. He let his curiosity lead him out of his way, and didn’t even think about what may happen if he got lost. Maybe all the paths led back to the main clearing, didn’t they do that a lot in parks?

Except this wasn’t a manmade park, it was a 100 percent natural mountain.

“Let’s try... that one. Can’t go wrong if you’re right, right?” He huffed to himself in an effort to keep his mood light, and his own determination pleased him. He started off confident. So long as he followed the trails, he had to wind up somewhere. And if it got too dark, the lights from the cabin and town below would give him an idea of where he was.

Plus, he still had his phone.

 

 

Ryan moved relentlessly, hunched over slightly to escape the leaves and branches that swiped at him, and gripped tight to the crooked trunks of trees as he slid down the slopes. His once comfortable stride grew unsure as he felt the pins and needles of anxiety No, none of this seemed right, and it was beginning to darken outside now, void of all life other than him.

Sweat built at Ryan’s forehead; he should have been back to the cabin by now, he was sure of it.

A break in the lining foliage came through at a roll of grass bending and swaying in the breeze. It was refreshing to see a clearing after so many trees. Perhaps it was just a little ways down from the cabins and if he continued on, he may reach something familiar.

The stalks of grass grew denser and longer, stretching out from their earthly graves to push at Ryan’s legs and keep him back. But he kept moving. He was tired and feeling distantly hopeless, but in the fireground of his mind, he had to be close. He just felt it.

Just then he caught sight of the outline of something dark jutting out from the ground. His eyes narrowed as he neared it, noticing the way that a radius of grass around it was dying and discolored. His steps became easier, but he became wary of the barren epicenter. 

It was upon closer inspection that he realized it was a well. Grey and black brick split into pebbling remnants, dressed the outside of the cylinder. Its condition was cracking from disuse, age, or weather, Ryan didn’t know which. The base of the well was lined with wild fungi of many colors, sprouting through the dirt to crawl up the sides like a shield in a thick layer. A thick clear slime coated them, shimmering in the fading light as he approached

There was something beautiful about what he saw, be it as disturbing as it was. The ruined and rotting wooden planks of the well’s cover were stripped and faded by time. As he thought of it, there was nothing colorful about this barren circle he had entered. The grass was dead or dying, and the dirt was so old it cracked under foot.The mushrooms and the stones both shared the same dull grey with black speckles of growth dotting the sides and creases of he well. It was macabre, but in an alluring way.

Ryan opened his phone and thumbed through the apps, eventually settling on his camera to remember the well as he saw it now. But before he could take a picture, something strange happened, His battery swiftly drained, but he didn’t know why. Ryan’s brows curiously knitted as he drew back his phone to watch as it powered down. An image of a red battery appeared on his screen before it faded to black. He stared at his reflection for a moment as he sorted his thoughts.

And it was only because of this that he was able to watch his own expression change from one of curiosity to alarm as he heard a voice calling to him. Someone was screaming, shouting for help from the bottom of the well. Urgently, Ryan leaned over the edge to try and get a look at the person. Trembling fingers touched down on the cool, rigid brick, his body hunched over as he squinted into what appeared to be a void.

But this turned out to be a big mistake, rock scraped and growled beneath Ryan’s weight. The stones crumbled and fell inward, and the foundation of the earth below shook. Before Ryan could realize what was happening, he had become weightless. Down the hole he fell, away from the campsite and into the mouth of hell.


	2. The Big Bad Bear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, I posted this as a finished oneshot AND left out my author's note at the beginning. If that doesn't say noob to the site I don't know what does....  
> Anyway, thanks so much if you enjoyed the first chapter, feel free to have me correct any mistakes that may bother you too much, and please let me know your thoughts on this one!

As Ryan fell deeper into the the darkness, all he could see was the light above him dimming and fading. He had bent thoughts-- quick flashes of mental pictures-- of himself crashing to the stony bottom, hitting his head, and blacking out. He saw himself laying there, blood crowning him and tears dressing him until his body decayed to a pile of broken bones. His screams would silence abruptly, truly the last living part of Ryan Wrecker. No one was here to call for help even if there was a chance he wouldn’t die on impact, and he would never be found.

Before anxiety could unravel him any further, his body slowed and lurched. He felt his stomach churn with the shift in gravity before the light over his head was suddenly growing instead of shrinking, clearly growing closer. Ryan stopped screaming, replacing the sound with his dry gasps until he was launched over the edge of the well again. He grunted as he tumbled and rolled along the sloped ground, only stopping when he hit the base of a wide tree. He panted and rose to a sitting position, twisting around to watch the well with wide hazel eyes and fists bunched up in the healthy grass around him, as if it could open up again and swallow him up.

“W-woah...” He struggled between pants. His voice shook and cracked with the words, hoarse from the screams.

Confusion swam between his ears as he slowly wobbled to a stand and tried not to vomit. What just happened? How did that just happen? His brow lowed and he spun to get a good look at the surroundings, finally catching his breath. He brushed the dirt and cobwebs from his shirt, or as much as he could, before he checked to make sure he had all his things. Yep, for some reason the gang’s all here.

He had had enough of the forest for a day; enough for a lifetime. It was time to get back to his cabin.

The night had fully set in and was scarcely lit by the the moon hanging overhead. The rolls of indigo sky was like it’s own life form, towering and watching him in that way that only the sky could. If he wasn’t so effectively scared and lonely, he may have been able to appreciate it. This was unreal. He could already imagine the disapproval his friends would level at him when they heard about this; he would never live it down.

With a bracing breath to gather himself, Ryan clutched at the strap of his satchel and made his hasty escape. If anything, the well was a warning. He wouldn’t be able to blindly stumble along the way he was doing before. He needed a cabin or a ranger station or something. As far as he knew and cared, he was alone and lost in the forest.

Only, he wasn’t.

 

 

Beneath the shimmering curtain of red tinged light wept directly from the inverted moon itself, he paced across the top of the colossal ruins. The column he was standing on now was hardly in any condition to be standing, but somehow it loomed. His long, slender fingers cradled the crimson stone hanging from his silver chain like a million dollar ruby. It pulsed and thrummed in and imitation of life, glowing a red hue of its own. The liquid inside shifted with his every step, pumping like the hearts it so desired.

No matter which way he walked, his dark, seemingly infinitely deep eyes never strayed from the man stalking throughout the haunting woodlands, so blindingly unaware. Never had he seen one so fearful, and yet, so driven. He terror didn’t seem to freeze him the way it did everyone else. He could taste the odd mixture on the tip of his tongue.

It was positively delicious.

The harsh nip of frigid breath on his arm, prickling the hairs there into a stand, caused him to begrudgingly switch his focus. He watched for a moment as the familiar blue coils danced through his vision, slithering up his lithe body like snakes and leaving a trail of thin cerulean essence. It was far too intimate for his current tastes. His upper lip drew up into a snarl and he drug hand through the haze in dismissal.

“We have a new arrival.” he heard the distorted voice uselessly from just over his shoulder, and smirked, releasing his hold on the beating jewel to level his hostile yet only companion with a look of sinister joy.

“Well then, why don’t you make him feel at home.” The words phrased like a question but traveled like an order, and rang strong but controlled in the thick quiet.  
The chipped laugh rolled across the steam until it dropped, splashing into a pool of water as the spirit departed and left an echo of distress.

His eyes finally returned to Ryan and the pendant began to pulse quicker. He felt a laugh of his own bubbling through the night sky, communicating his excitement. It was only a matter of waiting.

 

 

Ryan frowned, watching as birds from somewhere behind him squawked and scattered in all direction, obviously disturbed by something back there. He watched them disappear from his vision before he faced forward and kept going. It was getting late, but he had to keep trying. But before his faraway longing for safety carried his thoughts apart, he heard the distinct sound of water, rushing water running into river stones. It only lasted a moment, but there was no way it didn’t happen.

He paused to looked around again, and this time he heard the distant crunch of leaves signifying someone-- or something-- walking just behind. His heart rate picked up as his eyes strained to see into the dark.

“Hello?” he took a chance and called out, “Is, is anyone there?” He forced breaths through his slightly parted lips as he anticipated a response. He just wanted to hear another voice, something to assure himself that he wasn’t going crazy out here, and that there was hope.

Ryan walked toward where the sound had stopped and was replaced by silence. He clenched his jaw and set his mind in the possibility, watching carefully. The late breeze ruffled his hair and clothes, making the exposed skin of his arms and legs erupt in gooseflesh. However, it was a welcome reprieve from the heat his body had generated in his trip to exhaustion.

Please, he nearly begged as he finally heard the shifting of branches, Please don’t hide from me.

Mid stride, Ryan froze, and all thought left his being in one shallow breath. Through the mass of weeping willows stalked a creature so large he couldn’t see it all in one look. Its fur fell in long, black waves and the shorter hairs around it’s snout were wet with saliva. Gleaming white and sharp teeth bared through its snarl, the nose twitching and picking up on the scent of Ryan wafting through the wind. The creature watched him with harsh blue eyes as he stood, static and locked in place by his surprise. That was definitely no person. That was a monstrosity of a bear from some kind of distopian future, disturbed in the midst of its desolate graveyard.

Ryan felt the fight or flight instincts kicking in, leaning heavily towards one clear choice. His hands trembled with the waves or horror rounding his body. The bear neared, lunging into a racing position on all fours and sinking its claws into the soft earth. The ground gave way to the heavy weight of him and the sharp gaze never wavered in its search for movement. 

The sound of branches snapping under colossal weight snapped him into a reaction. Ryan swallowed around the lump taking form in his throat as his eyes finally drifted from the creature in front of him to check behind him as best he could.

The response was immediate, the thuds of footsteps pounded the ground and they were both off into a full sprint. His heart beat harshly against his chest as his system flooded with adrenaline. Sweat immediately broke out along his skin and made the fists of his hands slippery. His breathing grew painful and heavy, rattling his whole chest in rigid movements while he tried not to trip. He dove through the low hanging branches that the bear simply bursted through, his eyes welling with tears. The thunder of huge, strong paws never stopped, and the warmth of angry breaths across the back of his neck tore a scream from his throat.

His chest and legs burned, his stomach and head whirled, and his feet had grown numb. Ryan was not a runner, but he had never run faster in his life. Branches slashed open any available flesh, drawing blood and catching in the already open wounds. He felt it on his face and arms the worst, but the overgrown shrubbery didn’t cease to attack his legs. The excruciating pain didn’t make him want to stop, however. Ryan would rather launch himself over a spiked cliff than feel skin and bone be snatched apart piece by piece. He was practically blinded to the scatter of moonlight through the canopy by his tears. He couldn’t tell which way or how far into the woods he had ran, but he wouldn’t stop.

Except when an uncovered root seemed to appear simply because it would mean death for him, and he tripped. The transfer of weight twisted his ankle, and Ryan went down with a sharp scream, fallen leaves and grass either clung the fluids leaking from his body or were left glistening in the light. He bit his lip and sunk his blunt nails into the dirt, forcing himself into a crawl before he gave up. Pain seized through every part of him, vibrating unforgivingly in his teeth and thrumming under his nails.  
The shaking ground did not wait for him to recover, the bear was upon him and finally ready to--

Suddenly, illumination.

The flickering warmth of a golden light sputtered to life above him, banishing the darkness shrouding his wrought frame. Ryan’s eyes shot up to the figure above, eyebrows raising in a mixture of confusion and relief. He turned to gape up at the man standing above him watching with a mildly sheltered gaze. Where had the bear gone?   
The stranger held the lantern high above his head, casting its light over the both of them. Shadows of a curved nose and striking blue eyes loomed over him as the man studied his shaking mass. He wore a leather jacket lined with dark animal fur around the hood and down between the two button and hollowed sides. Underneath it lied a shiny badge pinned above his heart. He was a ranger. If he could dispel the fright blurring his vision, he might have been able to read the name embedded in the crest of gold.  
“Are you alright?” The ranger asked kindly and carefully, “Can you stand?”

Ryan breathed out in pants, gaping up at the stranger but unable to speak. 

“Do you speak english?” He tried again, crouching down to rest the lantern on the ground and get a better look at Ryan. “Can you understand me?”

“Y-yeah,” Ryan croaked finally, feeling the liquids gathering in his throat shift as he spoke. His voice was raw from the screaming, which brought his mind back to the creature he had been running away from. “And there was a bear. A huge bear and it’s coming. It-it followed me and we’re not safe here.”

The ranger frowned and glanced back into the dark before returning his gaze to Ryan. He spoke with composure and level words, but a prominent southern accent. “Just stay calm and we will get out of here.” He reached out a hand and clasped it into one of Ryan’s own to pull hims to his feet.

The ranger lowered swiftly and gathered his lantern in a scoop by its handle . “This way, just follow me.”

“H-how did you find me?” He asked as they set an even pace. His hands came up to absently press at the numerous dirty wounds across his body, eyes trained on the ground in front of him.

“I followed the sounds of running. It’s not hard when you know the woods like I do.” The man threw a smirk over his shoulder with the words but remained slightly in front of him while they walked. The wind blew past again, agitating the sensitive places. 

“Oh,” he continued, “So you live out here?”

“Only for right now. I’m helping out for the game warden, a substitute wildlife officer in a way. Lucky for you I got restless at home and went out for a night patrol. You know being out here after dark is not only against the rules, but a bad idea in general, right?”

Ryan felt the last of his fear dissolve into grains of embarrassment, pulling a nervous laugh from his lips a she followed the golden glow of the lantern. “Whoops.”  
“Well, we’re pretty close to my cabin ...uh... you got a name I can call you or should I make up one for ya?”

Ryan breathed a second laugh, this one more natural and actually easing some tension. “Oh yeah, I’m Ryan.”

“Nice to meet you Ryan. I’m Jon.”

The underbrush and briers were terrifying in the thick shroud of night and silence, even being led on by Jon, who was surprisingly confident, made no difference. Somewhere inside his body he still felt the grip of trepidation cling to his heartstrings. His thoughts still lingered on the matted, browned fur and silver eyes of the giant, feral wolf. There was a time or two when the hair on Ryan's arms stood on end as he heard--or at least thought he heard--the sound of a bellowing roar echo through the twisted spines of hollow trees. His breath caught on his tongue, held tight and silent, as he tried to cast away the fears building against the creases of his mind.

“You don’t have to be so scared,” Jon said as he noticed the clear tensing of Ryan’s body at event the softest sounds, “As long as I’m here, you’ll be just fine.”

“You really can’t say that man.” Ryan frowned, immediately abandoning his thoughts to keep up with Jon’s sharp turns. “You didn’t see that bear, if you could call it that. It looked more like a monster.”

“A monster? What makes you say that?” Jon laughed lightly, turning to get a look at Ryan’s expression. 

“Well for starters, that thing was nearly three times my size. It could have swallowed me whole if it really wanted. And second, you didn’t see the look in it’s eyes. It wasn’t just a rabid animal; it was a starving...entity. It was almost unearthly. I was terrified.”

Jon was quiet for a long moment, and Ryan didn’t know what that meant. He really was not trying to scare his only hope of getting out of these woods, but that ‘bear’ was everything to be afraid of. They kept in silent step with each other until Jon finally spoke up again.

“Afraid of the Big Bad Bear, then?” he asked idly, the words having barely any energy behind them.

“Yeah,,” Ryan answered, eyes catching on the night sky to level with the stars. In his panic, He’d not even looked at the bright, unusually close array of blazing gasses, and he watched them as they walked. “Something like that.”


End file.
